Domestic water-heater.



No. 817,589. PATENTED APR. 10, 1906.

W. H. ROBERTS.

DOMESTIC WATER HEATER. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 15. 1905.

UNITED STATES ATET OFFTCE.

\VILLIAM H. ROBERTS, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO ROBERTS WATER HEATER COMPANY, OF OAKLAND, CALIFOR- NIA, A'OORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

DOMESTIC WATER-HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 10, 1906.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM HENRY RoB- ERTS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Domestic Water- Heaters, of w ich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in domestic water-heaters, the object of the invention being to provide an apparatus for use in connection with a kitchen-boiler, by means ofwhich the same may be heated by gas or other fluid fuel as well as or in place of the ordinary coal or wood range with a water-back therein,

' to provide an apparatus of this character which shall be comparatively cheap and simple in construction, ermitting the use of the ordinary kitchen-boiler without material alteration thereof, and which will be highly efficient and economical in the utilization of the heat of combustion.

Further advantages of the invention are that it is safe and durable, and it avoids the deposition of moisture upon the floor arising from condensation of the water-vapor from the gas.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section showing certain parts in side elevation of my improved apparatus used in connection with a kitchen-range. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the heating-disk. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same.

Referring to the drawin s, 1 represents a kitchen-boiler of the usuaT form supported upon a tripod 2 and stand 3. Around this boiler, but spaced therefrom, is a cylindrical casing or housing 4, extending below the botfuel tom of the boiler and preferably lined with asbestos 5 or other material for preventing the escape of heat. Within the lower end of this housing is sup orted a gas or other fiuid burner 6. mmediately above said burner is an auxiliary heatin -chamber 7, which is of a flat box-like form, having flues 8 extending entirely through the same Vertically. With said auxiliary heating-chamber connect at opposite sides pi es 9 10, the pipe 9 leading upward between t e side of the oiler and the side of the housing and being connected with a hot-water pipe 11, leading from the top of the boiler. The pipe 10 is connected with a pipe 12, leading to the boiler at a mediate point thereof.

13 is the ordinary cold-water-supply pipe, which in the manner well known leads down within the boiler to near the bottom thereof. The pipe 14, with which the pipe 10 connects, is the hot-water pipe leading from the top of the water-back 15 in the range 16, and from the bottom of said water-back leads a pipe 17 to a pipe 18, connectin the bottom of the boiler with the middle 0 the auxiliary heater. A faucet 19, connected with the pipe 9, serves to drain the auxiliary heater when desired.

21 is a vent-pipe forcarrying off the products of combustion from the interior 01 the housing and leading to the Stovepipe 22. This vent-pipe has a damper or valve 23 therein, by which the pipe 21 may be closed when the gas-burner is not in use.

It will be seen that with this construetlon the boiler can be conveniently used either with a coal or wood range or with an auxiliary gas or other fluid-fuel burner, or with the boiler at the same time. In any casethe apparatus is economical as compared with the ordinary construction, for the heat of the boiler is prevented from escaping by radiation on account of the asbestos-lined housing. When the gas-burner is used, the apparatus is most economical for the flues in the auxiliary heating-chamber permits the products of combustion to pass therethrough, transm1t tin a large percentage of the heat units to sai auxiliary heating-chamber and causing a very rapid circulation of the water in the pipes 9 10 and in the upper part of the boiler, so that the boiler is very rapidly heated. In addition to this practically none of the residual heat units can escape doing effective service in heating the water, for the products of combustion after passing through the flues in the auxiliary heating-chamber impinge directly upon the bottom of the boiler and then pass up around the same within the housing, so that by the time they reach the vent-pipe substantially all the heat has been extracted. The asbestos lining prevents any condensation of the water-vapor.

It will readily be seen that this device is safe and durable as well as being highly economical.

The flat box-like or disk-shaped auxiliary heating-chamber 7, having the fines or apertures 8 therethrough, is an important part of my invention and may be used to great advantage independently of the remainder of the novel constructions shown herein. I therefore desire to claim the same broadly wherever used.

I claim- 1. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a suitably-supported boiler, a housing therefor, spaced thererom, a water-heating receptacle below the boiler comprising a fiat box-like rece tacle having symmetrically-arranged vertica flues therethrough for the passage of the products of combustion, the periphery of the receptacle being curved inward between each pair of adjacent flues to confine the water into close proximity with the flues, said receptacle having a water-supply pipe leading from the bottom of the boiler to the center of said receptacle, and hot-water pipes leading from opposite sides of the receptacle upward between the boiler and the housing, one leading to the center of the boiler, and the otherto the hot-water system, and a burner beneath said receptacle in said housing, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the character deof the bo1 er to the center of said receptacle,-

and hot-water pipes leading from opposite sides of the receptacle upward between the boiler and the housing, one leading to the center of theboiler, and the other to the hotwater system, a water-back in a stove, a pipe leading to the bottom of the water-back from the supply-pipe leading to the receptacle,a-

pipe leading Irom the top of the water-back to the pipeleading to the middle of the boiler, and a burner beneath said rece tacle in said housing, substantially as descri ed.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand-in the-presence of two subscribing witnesses,

W. H. ROBERTS.

Witnesses:

FRANCIS M. WRIGHT, BESSIE GORFINKEL. 

